TREATING A BIRTHDAY CELEBRANT AT RAI RAI KEN

Restaurant: Rai Rai Ken | Japanese 
Location: The Walk, IT Park, Cebu City
Camera: Nikita, a Nikon P310
Price: P200 up

I've surrounded myself with beautiful and innocent souls because I do not have it. This pretty girl here is one of those beautiful and innocent souls I refer to.

We decided to go Japanese. We IT-Parked because I wanted to do a bit of work—taking pictures of its elegant Christmas decorations. And, yes, taking them was a minute-long work. :)

After that, we Rai Rai Ken-ed. Perhaps it is more Japanese than Joed's Lutong Hapon. They actually use real Japanese sauce, which my old Japanese student used in her okonomiyaki. But I prefer the Filipinization of Joed's Japanese food. On top of that, it is a lot cheaper. Rai Rai Ken's katsudon costs P220, whereas it is only P65 at Joed's.

But everytime I go out with these beautiful souls, I love being a listener. I love listening to their stories. So, the birthday celebrant shared her family's suffering brought by Pablo. We ate for twenty minutes. We talked for three hours.

     Japanese Gyouza | P65 This food is actually an influence from the Chinese.  

VIETNAMESE AND THAI FOOD AT LEMONGRASS

Location: Lemongrass at Ayala, Cebu

Rating: 5/5 

Camera: Nikita, a Nikon P310

Vietnamese Food: Mango and Melon with Pork and Shrimp

AFFORDABLE JAPANESE FOOD AT JOED'S LUTONG HAPON

Yakiniku? Katsudon? I couldn't decide what to get. Every time I visit Joed's I always end up picking katsudon. But last night, I wanted to try something new. It was a fun night with the girls from work. Joed's is affordable. It tastes good. The presentation is good. 

My Yaki Udon (P110). I thought it would be rice toppings: rice with (yaki) beef. It is udon—a variety of Japanese noodles, not don from donburi—a bowl of rice with toppings. It was a happy mistake.  

CHOI CITY: AN AUTHENTIC CHINESE RESTAURANT

Address: G/F South Arcade, Banilad Town Center, Banilad, Cebu City

Telephone Number: (+63 32) 239 0800 / (+63 32) 239 0999

Camera: Pawlito, a Nikon 3100 with 18-55 mm lens

Gold and red speak at Choi City. The place is undoubtedly Chinese with its loud chandeliers. The weekend crowd, mostly Chinese, equals the liveliness of the place. Two tables of beaming faces celebrated birthdays. Most of the round tables equipped with rotating tops bristled with lobsters, lapu-lapu fish, scallops, roast layered pork, and rookien misua prepped by Chinese chefs themselves. Yes, the dishes are as authentic as they can get.—Backpacking with a Book

 Roast Layered Pork